Rise of the Runelords

Goblins of Sandpoint Hinterlands

Description:

This small creature stands about three feet in height, yet its elliptical head is almost comically oversized for its gangly physique. Its eyes are set wide apart—tiny red beads in a wrinkled face that almost seem too eager to reflect firelight. Just below is a wide maw full of tiny, sharp teeth. The creature is of green-gray hue, dressed in cast-off bits of scavenged refuse and hand-me-downs, right down to its sword—a long jagged piece of broken metal that it waves about menacingly.
Few creatures take such glee from destruction and mayhem as goblins. These small pests can be found in nearly any environment, straining the local food chain, menacing the locals, and generally causing trouble for any forced to deal with them, including their kin. They are goblins, and to them, life is here for their twisted amusement, much to the detriment of everyone else.

Goblin Tribes
Bird Cruncher Goblins

Live in caves on western edge of Devil’s Platter, southeast of Sandpoint

Least aggressive

Licktoad Goblins

Can be found in Brine-Stump Marsh

South of Sandpoint

Excellent Swimmers

Seven-Tooth Goblins

East, in Shankswood

Raid Sandpoint’s Junkyard and rebuild materials into armor and weapons

Mosswood Goblins

Further East, and South

Largest Tribe

Held back by internal feuds

Thistletop Goblins

Nettlewood Coast, on small island

East and North of Sandpoint

Goblin Heroes

Big Gug-Mutt

Unusually muscular and tall

Mosswood tribe

Mother was a Hobgoblin and Father was a wild boar

Koruvus

Seven Tooth Tribe

Short Temper

Prized Possession is a magical longsword aquired from a “longshank”

Vanished several months ago after discovering a secret hideout “in the cliffs”

Vorka

Cannibal

Brine-Stump Marsh

Not liked by the Licktoad tribe

Ripnugget

Leads thistletop Goblins

Controls ‘best lair’ on an island, with sheer cliff sides, easy to protect

Rides a lizard as a mount

Bruthazmus

Infamous bugbear ranger

Lives in northern nettlewood

Visits the five tribes to trade for stolen goods

Particular hatred for elves

He and Shelalu have fought on many occasions

Bio:

Ten fun facts about goblins
1: Horse Hate: Goblins excel at riding animals, but they don’t quite get horses. In fact, their hatred of all things horse is matched only by their fear of horses, who tend to step on goblins who get too close.
2: Dog Hate: Although goblins raise horrible rat-faced creatures called (creatively enough) goblin dogs to use as mounts (and ride wolves or worgs if they can get them—goblins are quick to explain that wolves are NOT dogs), their hatred of plain old dogs nearly matches their hatred of horses. The feeling is mutual. If your dog’s barking at the woodpile for no reason, chances are he smells a frightened goblin hiding in there somewhere.
3: Goblins Raid Junkyards: Garbage pits, gutters, sewers… anywhere there’s garbage, you can bet goblins are nearby. Goblins are weirdly adept at crafting weapons and armor from refuse, and are fond of killing people with what they throw away.
4: Goblins Love to Sing: Unfortunately, as catchy as their lyrics can be, goblin songs tend to be a bit too creepy and disturbing to catch on in polite society.
5: They’re Sneaky: An excited or angry goblin is a noisy, chattering, toothy menace, but even then, he can drop into an unsettling silence in a heartbeat. This, matched with their diminutive size, makes them unnervingly adept at hiding in places you’d never expect: stacks of firewood, rain barrels, under logs, under chicken coops, in ovens…
6: They’re A Little Crazy: The fact that goblins think of things like ovens as good hiding places reveals much about their inability to think plans through to the most likely outcome. That, and they tend to be easily distracted, particularly by shiny things and animals smaller than them that might make good eating.
7: They’re Voracious: Given enough supplies, a goblin generally takes nearly a dozen meals a day. Most goblin tribes don’t have enough supplies to accommodate such ravenous appetites, which is why the little menaces are so prone to going on raids.
8: They Like Fire: Burning things is one of the great goblin pastimes, although they’re generally pretty careful about lighting fires in their own lairs, especially since goblins tend to live in large tangled thistle patches and sleep in beds of dried leaves and grass. But give a goblin a torch and someone else’s home and you’ve got trouble.
9: They Get Stuck Easily: Goblins have wiry frames but wide heads. They live in cramped warrens. Sometimes too cramped.
10: Goblins Believe Writing Steals Your Soul: The walls of goblin lairs and the ruins of towns goblins have raided are littered with pictures of their exploits. They never use writing, though. That’s not lucky. Writing steals words out of your head. You can’t get them back.